Machine for transferring fluids



May21',1940. ERCORNE". UAL 2,201,575

MACHINE FOR TRANSFERRING FLUIDS Filed March 4, 1938 li-All Patented May 21, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Ernest R. Corneil, Niagara Falls, N. Y., and Robert B. Corneil, Toronto, Ontario, Canaria Application March 4, 1938, Serial No. 194,008

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a machine for transferring uids, also for separating heavy and light fluids when intermixed.

One object of this invention is to provide a machine which constitutes both a pump and a fluid separator and is useful for several purposes such as transferring either a liquid or a gas or a mixture of liquid and gas from one receptacle to another, for separating a gas from a liquid, for the continuous vaporization of a liquid and either discharge the vapor in its purity or mix it with other Vapor or gas so as to form an explosive mixture, for instance, and for pumping air into contact with volatile liquid so as to create and deliver a vapor or gas-mixture thereof.

rAnother object is to simplify the construction of a machine of this character by eliminating or minimizing the use of glands and of solid or brous packings while employing centrifugal force with the liquid being operated upon, or with a relatively heavy liquid that serves only as a liquid-packing or bar to the improper flowing of the lighter liquid or other fluid being operated Another object is to provide a very simple andA eifective means to automatically regulate the amount of packing liquid or sealing liquid in the machine, viz., to prevent any excessive accumulation or diminution of the packing or sealing liquid.

Another object is to provide the machine with an elastic rotor-track against which the pumping rotor has rolling contact so as to minimize noise, wear and shocks, and to permit of resisted slippage at sudden starting and stopping of the means for eiecting relative rotary movement of the pumping rotor and the casing that contains the latter.

Another object is to provide, in a machine of this kind, a combination of very few originally separate parts that are of such shape that they can be easily and economically formed of castings that require but little machining, without the necessity for special machine-tool, and which can be assembled quickly and easily by any person of ordinary mechanical ability.

Other objects and important features are pointed out or implied in the following details of description, in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a view, pgrtly in side-elevation and partly in vertical section, showing one form of our uid-transferring machine.

Fig. 2 is a view, mostly in side elevation, but

upartly in vertical section, showing the device of Fig. 1 mounted on a motor which has its middle part broken out to conserve 4drawing space.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional View of the device shown in Figures 1 and 4, the section being taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view, the section being taken along the zigzag line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmental assembly view, mostly` in horizontal section, showing a modified form of the invention.

Fig. 6 is a View, partly in elevation, but mostly in central vertical section, showing another modified form of the invention.

Referring to this drawing in detail, in which, similar reference numerals refer to similar parts in the several views, the invention is described in detail as follows:

In Figs. l, 2, 3 and 4, the machine consists of a cylindrical casing composed of two primarily separate elements or plane and parallel walls I and II, the latter being a centrally apertured disc or cover normally secured in place by screws I2 or other appropriate means, and whose central aperture I3 forms a bearing in which a tubular member I4 is journaled. This tubular mem ber includes an eccentric I which is entirely Within the casing Ill-II and has an inlet passage I6 and an outlet passage Il, eachof these passages having axially-parallel outer portions and radially and oppositely extended inner portions which latter are widened at I8 and I9, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, so as to communicate respectively with several ports that will presently be described. g

A tubular hub or driving-shaft connection is united with the casing member 2 so as to provide a means for rotating the casing by power from any appropriate source, for instance, from an electric motor conventionally shown at .2| (Fig. 2), the hub 20 being secured to the motors driving shaft, while the tubular member I4'is se cured in a collar 22 by means of a set-screw 23,

said collar being an element of a frame that is united with the motor-casing, so that the tubular member I4 is held stationary while the pumpcasing `I0II is rotated by the hub 2l) that receives its motion from the motor-shaft. TheA casing Ill-II also includes an elastic inner sur-4 face or track 24. v

The pump-rotor 25 is formed with a, central cylindrical opening or bearing 26 that constitutes a bearing in which the eccentric I5 is journaled, and is also formed with an annular series of partitions or walls 21 that reach from the bearing 26 to the concave inner surface or exible n tion,

and elastic element 2A at the axially remote part of the eccentric; and these partitions separate an annular series of Huid-passages each consisting of a relatively broad and capacious chamber 28 and a constricted port 29. A number of these constricted ports are concurrently in open communication with the wide part I8 of the inlet passage while another number of them are in open communication with the wide part I9 of the outlet passage and while others are closed by the convex surfaces at opposite sides of the eccentric I5.

In Fig. 3, the packing or sealing liquid is indicated at 30, and in Fig. 4, the broken line 3Uv indicates the position of the inner surface of the liquid as held by centrifugal force and gravitation when the casing lil-II is rotated'at high speed, being equally distributedaround the inner surface 24, so that the eccentrically disposed rotor 25 has some of its partitions 2l deeper in the liquid 30 than those that are opposite and spaced from the inner surface 24, and as rotation of the casing Iil--II is effected around the eccentric I5, some of the partitions move into contact with the surface 2t while others move away therefrom as the rotor rotates with the casing IIJ-II and rolls on the surface 2li thereof. To make this rolling contact continuous, the rotor 25 is 'provided with discs SI whose peripheries are co-extensive with the outer ends of the partitions 2 and continually bear against the concave surface 24. Any appropriate means (not shown) may be employed for securing these discs to the intermediate part of the rotor so they are parts of the rotor and in close contact with the lateral edges of the partitions 2l.

In operation as a gaseous fiuid pump, assume that the eccentric in Fig. 3 is held stationary while the casing Ill-II is being rotated in the direction of the curved arrow at the upper-right while the rotor 25 is thereby rotated in the same direction (counter-clockwise) while rolling in the opposite direction on the concave surface or track 24; and during this movement those chambers 28 l that have the letter c therein are compressing the gaseous fluid through the ports connected therewith, while those that have the letter s therein are effecting a suction in consequence of the recession of the sealing liquid 30 therein, and the chambers that are indicated at n are neutral because they are closed by the eccentrics convex surface. The wide part I8 of the inletpassage is always in communication with the passages or chambers that are effecting sucand the Wide part I9 of the outletpassage is always in communication with the chambers that are effecting compression or pressure in consequence of the intrusion of sealing liquid deep into these chambers; so the pump- .,ing or transferring of the uid is continuous during rotation of the casing and rotor around the eccentric. If the direction of rotation is reversed, the inlet and outlet passages are interchanged, and such reversal may be desirable in many cases, as where one kind of fluid has been pumped into a container with another kind of fluid for obtaining a desired mixture and it is desired to pump the mixture from the container into shipping vessels or containers. In thus merely pumping a fluid, it is desirable that the sealing liquid 3B be of such nature that it will not volatilize and mix with the fluid being pumped; for instance, a heavy non-volatile oil or colloid such as one of the petroleum products likeor akin to Petroleum Jelly or Vaseline,-

and mercury (though heavy and expensive) may be found useful when pumping certain kinds of liquids or gases. Therefore, where the term "liquid is used in connection with the sealing element 30, it is used broadly according to the Standard dictionary definition which obviously includes a colloid as well as the thinner liquids.

As a separator of intermixed heavy and light liquids, or intermixtures of liquid and gas, the non-volatile liquid 30 may be eliminated in part or in its entirety; and in lieu thereof, the heavier liquid in the mixture constitutes the sealing liquid, being thrown by centrifugal force against the inner concave surface, as indicated in Figs. 3 and 4, and thus separated from the lighter fluid, as cream is separated from milk in a well known manner; so that as the operation proceeds, the lighter iiuid is pressed out through the passages c--IEI-I 1, and the heavier liquid tends to accumulate in the casing I l--I I; but, to prevent such accumulation, maintain the sealing liquid at a predetermined quantity, and dispose of the surplus, we provide one or more outlets 32 that communicate with the outer air at a point the same distance from the casings axis as the desired inner limit of the sealing iiuid. As here illustrated, the outlet 32 may consist of an L-shaped` piece of pipe screwed into the wall II so that its free end lnay be swung to points at different distances from the axis of rotation of the pump-rotor 25 so as to vary the depth or specific quantity of the sealing liquid and thereby vary the pressures produced at any specific speed of the rotor. The overflow or discharge from the outlet 32 can be collected and dispensed or disposed of in any appropriate way and by any appropriate means not here disclosed. Thisisame procedure is employed in the continuous evaporation of a liquid, as where a hydro-carbon is vaporized for mixing the vapor with air and/or other gas or gases in forming a combustion-gas, or explosive mixture of gases.

In the modified forms, Figs, and 6, the parts that are different in construction from those described above, butsimilarf in nature or purpose and function, have the same reference numerals with an added letter, a in Fig. 5, and b in Fig. 6, for instance, the casing member Illa in Fig. 5 corresponds to the casing member IUin Figs. l to 4; and the corresponding casingmember of Fig. 6 is indicated at Illb.

Though the liquid packing is not shown in Figs. 5 and 6, such is to be used in these modified forms, the same as in the other forms.

In Fig. 5, the casing Ia is formed with traction lugs Ic, and if` these extend entirely from one to the other of the parallel walls of the casing, notches SIc are formed in the discs 3Ia to receive the ends of-the traction lugs; but as the purpose of thesev lugs is to form abutments to contact with the partitions 2'1, they may terminate at the inner surfaces of the discs, in which case/the notches 3Ic may be eliminated. The eccentric IEa is of such shape that it may cover only two ports 29 concurrently, thereby re-I ducing the number of neutral (n) chambers, and correspondingly increasing the number of compression (c) and suction (s) chambers.

In Fig. 6, the chamber I Db-I Ib is supported in an axially horizontal position, instead of the axially-vertical position of the other disclosed forms of the invention, and the same is true of the members |512` and 25h. In this form, the inlet Ilb and -outlet I'Ib Vare `co-axial with the casing and extend in opposite directions; and

i modifications;

at the inlet end, the member Ib is secured to the pedestal 33 by a set-screw 34 like that shown in Figs. 1 and 2; While the casing-member Hb is formed with a tubular journal Ila: seated for rotation in a pedestal 33:1: and is closely fitted against an end of the outlet pipe Ilm that is secured in place by a set-screw or by other appropriate means. Rotation of this casing lb--I Ib is eiected by a flat belt therearound, or a narrow belt or cable'in the V-groove 35, or by other appropriate means;- but as this type is most useful Where a very high speed is employed, a belt or cable in the V-groove 35 and a similar one of a pulley on an electric motor,

are most practical.

While the elastic track 24 is desirable under certain conditions, and the traction lugs llc are desirable under other conditions, there are still other conditions where both may be eliminated, for instance, Where the sealing liquid is quite viscous or adhesive so that it adheres to both the casing and the rotor for causing the latter to roll on the concave ltrack under normal Working conditions, but permits of relative slippingmovement in case of abnormally quick starting, sudden accelerations, etc.

The several illustrated modifications do not exhaust the number of possible or contemplated so the invention is not limited to the present illustrations and descriptions, for the invention resides in the embodiment of inventive ideas as implied in the foregoing and claimed in the following.

What We claim as our invention is:

l. In a machine for transferring fluids, the

combination of a cylindrical casing having a n concave inner surface and Walls which have plane and parallel inner surfaces, liquid in said casing and adapted to form an annular packing around said concave inner surface, a tubular.

nately in and out of open communication with said inlet and outlet passages when relative ro.

tary motion is effected between said eccentric and roto-r so that said rotor rolls on said concaver surface, 2. The combination defined by claim` 1, said inner concave surface being elastic so as to conform to the outer ends of said partitions for theA dual purpose of sealing the outer ends of said chambers and providing a flexible track on which said rotor rolls and slips for purposes specied.

, 3.*The combination defined by claim 1, the

vliquid in said vcasing being of sufficient depth to completely displace the fluid being transferred or compressed from consecutive chambers, and means to vary the specific quantity of the sealing liquid so that various pressures may be produced in the liquid being transferred, for any `specific speed of rotation of the rotor.

ERNEs'r` R. CORNEIL. ROBERT B. CORNEIL. 

